Sexy Pistols and Swanky Penthouses

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All the Real Housewives of NYC were in the same room at a viewing party for the show at La Pomme, where Kelly Bensimon’s Playboy appearance was the hot topic as we dove into the steaming food. I asked Kelly’s costar Countess LuAnn de Lesseps if she’d ever show her stuff in that publication, and she replied, “Probably not.” After a pause, LuAnn added, “Let’s make that decision when they ask me.” You hear that, Hef? The ball’s in your court.

The newest housewife, Sonja Morgan, has her own allure, say her welcoming castmates. As Sonja told me at the bash, “I’m the sexy pistol, according to LuAnn. She calls me the Mae West.” And Ramona apparently approves of her style, too.

“She said I’m her BFF,” Sonja informed me, “because I know how to have fun, I’m secure in myself and I’m a great mom.” The fact that she was married to the great-grandson of one of the richest men in the world, J.P. Morgan, just might be a factor, too!

LuAnn popped up at the party for my anniversary at The Village Voice held at Steve Greenberg’s 230 Fifth, a swanky 20th-floor penthouse with panoramic views and lots of bar help. At the bash, the Countess chatted withMichael Urie, ’60s legend Ronnie Spector sang “Happy Anniversary” to yours truly, and television stars such as Jane Velez-Mitchell, Robert Verdi and Wendy Diamond were photographed and toasted. Surveying some of the flashy club denizens in the crowd, cohost Joan Rivers told reporter Peter Davis, “I may not be all real, but I’m one of the only real women in this room!”

There was far more gravitas at the Writers Guild Awards held at The Hudson Theatre—though host Susie Essman managed to inject some expectedly racy jocularity into the proceedings. Essman joked that the trophy given out to the winners looked like a female private part (the type of thing you often see in Playboy), and said that was actually good because everyone gets some to take home! She also got in a comment about John Mayer (claiming he wasn’t invited because of the dumb stuff flying out of his mouth lately), and also a wisecrack about last year’s big moneymaker, Avatar: “It’s the first movie that’s simultaneously three-dimensional and one-dimensional.”

Na’vis have nothing on the club kids, who used to file into BonBon Tuesdays at Juliet Supperclub in full force and flaming war paint. But not anymore. The managers decided that the clubbies didn’t buy enough drinks, so they killed the weekly event in favor of trying to court the bottle-service crowd. Economically understandable? Maybe. Sexy and exciting? Nah.